NFL Roundup: Giants Hand It to McCarthy, Raiders Talk Closing, Watt Takes the CBS Chair
The Thursday night game in Chicago is the smallest story of the day. New York changed quarterbacks, and CBS handed its top booth to a defensive end.
Giants. New York will start J.J. McCarthy at quarterback this week against the Texans, with Jameis Winston moving aside. That is not a playoff decision. It is an evaluation decision, and I think it is the right one, because the Giants already know what the veteran bridge gets them and have learned nothing new from it. My read: McCarthy's legs are the point, and I expect him to hold the job the rest of the way unless the ball starts going to the other team. For Houston, the cost is a week of preparing for a quarterback who can move rather than one who stands still.
Raiders. Klint Kubiak insists the answer for Las Vegas is to "close games out." That's a description of the symptom wearing a headset. Teams that build leads and lose them rarely lack want-to. They shrink. First down becomes a clock-killing run, third down becomes a throw short of the sticks, and the ball goes back to the opponent with less aggression than the team showed in the first half. If Kubiak's real fix is calling the second half the way he called the first, the Raiders get better. If "closing" means protecting, nothing changes and we'll have this same conversation in a month.
Broncos. Jonathon Cooper is off the exempt list following two arrests on domestic violence charges in June, and his first public comment was "No excuses." Good line. It's also the only line available to him. Denver gets a pass rusher back, but a player who missed that much time doesn't walk into his old workload, and I'd expect the Broncos to work him in gradually while they find out what he can hold up. Where I could be wrong: if the edge group is thin, need beats caution and Cooper is back to a full complement fast.
Packers. Josh Jacobs, in his first comments since his arrest in May following an incident with a woman at his home, apologized for putting Green Bay in "this situation." The apology is the cheap part and every veteran in that locker room knows it. What the Packers actually need is a back who can carry the offense while a legal process runs in the background, and my read is they won't cut his role to make a point about accountability. Remorse and availability are separate ledgers. The thing that would change my mind is the league office, which is out of the building's hands.
Colts. Dan Patrick reported that Indianapolis' first general manager call would go to Peyton Manning. Jason and Travis Kelce said on New Heights there's no chance the Colts hire him. The Kelces are right, and the report is being misread. A first call to a franchise legend is a courtesy, not a shortlist, and I'd bet the actual hire comes from the personnel side of somebody else's front office.
Patriots and Bears. Kevin Byard said he's sharing "as much as I can" with his New England teammates before Thursday night in Chicago, which he described as a homecoming. Intel from a former player is the most overrated edge in football. Chicago's staff knows Byard knows the signals, so they'll change them. The real value is smaller and it's real: he can tell the Patriots' front what the Bears' line likes on third and short. My prediction is that Chicago alters its cadence and protection calls this week and the Byard edge nets out near zero.
CBS. JJ Watt lands the full-time lead analyst chair, replacing Tony Romo. The consensus will call it a safe hire. I'd call it a bet on trench detail, the part of the job most analysts gloss because they never played it. Watt's risk isn't knowledge, it's generosity. He knows these defensive players, and the first time he soft-pedals a blown protection assignment to protect a friend, the booth loses the thing that made it worth watching.
Caleb Williams. The MVP question is being asked early. Contenders get decided by wins and by not giving the ball away, and neither is settled in October. Build the case over a full season and it will make itself. My verdict on the day: the Giants' quarterback switch is the only move here that changes what a team can do on Sunday, and it's the one I'd expect to look smart by December.